The initiators of the next changes in the law on the stay of foreigners were Petr Gadzik, chairman of the Czech TOP 09 Party, and Tomio Okamura, Vice President of the Association of Czech Travel Agencies.
The impetus for the creation of a new Law on foreigners was the recent riots in London and Paris. According to Mr. Okamur, the main purpose of the law, which is currently under development and discussion, is to prevent the growth of social tension in Czech society and prevent the spread of interethnic conflicts by controlling the flow of migrants.
Innovations
According to the draft of the new law, most foreigners will have a residence permit, and permanent residence – units. In order to obtain a residence permit, a foreigner will be required to provide proof of income (in advance – 24 thousand crowns per month without deduction of taxes). The activities of entrepreneurs applying for a business residence permit should be transparent. A proposal is being considered that when making a decision on issuing another residence permit, the archives of tax inspections should be raised and the amounts of tax deductions for previous years checked, although the legal side of the issue remains unclear.
A foreigner will not be able to apply for permanent residence after five years of stay in the territory of the Czech Republic just like that. Only in rare cases – for example, if he is an excellent specialist with a high income level, or the owner of a prosperous company whose office is located in the Czech Republic. A prerequisite for obtaining permanent residence is to pay taxes regularly. In addition, you will need to pay a high fee (about one million kronor in the case of business permanent residence) and take a serious exam in the Czech language. The same applies to foreigners who have married citizens of the Czech Republic: they will no longer be able to obtain permanent residence automatically.
If a foreigner loses the job for which he came to the Czech Republic, closes his business, stops paying taxes, commits a crime, etc., the state will automatically cancel the residence permit and even permanent residence and send the offender home.
The issue of extending permanent residence will be considered every year.
If unemployment in the country exceeds a certain level, permanent residence will not be provided under any circumstances. The only exceptions will be foreign specialists in those fields of activity in which there are objectively not enough Czech specialists.
Each application for permanent residence will be considered as an independent one: neither children nor close relatives of foreigners who have permanent residence in the Czech Republic will have benefits to receive it.
Children of foreigners born in the Czech Republic, if both parents have a residence permit, will not be eligible for citizenship or permanent residence – only a residence permit, which will end or change the status to permanent residence only together with the parent.
Current permanent residence holders will have to confirm that their official income has reached the established minimum since the law came into force. Otherwise, their permanent residence may be cancelled. Although the legal side of the issue is not yet clear here either.
As for obtaining citizenship, it will be awarded only in exceptional cases. The application can be submitted at least after ten years of stay in the territory of the Czech Republic. At the same time, it is necessary that the official income for the last 5 years exceeds the average income level in the Czech Republic. Knowledge of the Czech language at the secondary school level is mandatory.
The development and approval of a new law on foreigners may take the whole of 2012. The new law is expected to come into force in early 2013.
Recall that now a foreigner can apply for permanent residence in the Czech Republic after 5 years of stay in the country on the basis of a long-term visa. To obtain permanent residence, you will need to submit a bank certificate confirming the availability of a guaranteed financial minimum in a bank account (approximately 4,500 euros for each family member), an agreement with an employer, proof of housing or a lease agreement and a number of other documents.
After 5 years of permanent residence, you can apply for Czech citizenship. To do this, you need to speak Czech, have no criminal record in the last five years and give up your Russian passport.
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